Age Estimates for Some Subterranean Taxa and Lineages in the Dinaric Karst

Abstract

Boris Sket: Ocene starosti za nekatere podzemeljske taksone in živalske linije na Dinarskem krasu Z uporabo primerjalnega filogeografskega pristopa in neodvisnih molekularnih ur smo predlagali časovni potek evolucije troglobiontov Dinarskega krasa, ki velja za sorazmerno veliko število taksonov. Zdi se, da ključni dogodki pripadajo dvema obdobjema. (1) Glavne razdelitve znotraj holodinarskih taksonov so iz obdobje srednjega miocena. Predstavljajo zgornji potencialni časovni limit za naselitev jam. (2) Regionalna diferenciacija, vključno s speciacijo, ki je lahko vsaj deloma povezana s podzemeljsko fazo, naj bi se zgodila med zgodnjim in srednjim pleistocenom. Ocenjujemo, da se je začela invazija večine proučevanih živalskih linij v podzemlje Dinarskega krasa v obdobju med dvema in petimi milijoni let. Ključne besede: podzemlje, molekularna ura, molekularna filogenija, filogeografija, Dinarski kras. Using a comparative phylogeographic approach and different independent molecular clocks we propose a timescale for the evolution of troglobionts in the Dinaric Karst that is relatively consistent over a wide taxonomic range. Keystone events seem to belong to two age classes. (1) Major splits within holodinaric taxa are from the mid-Miocene. They present the potential upper limit for the age of cave invasions. (2) Regional differentiation, including speciation, which can at least in part be associated with a subterranean phase, took place from early Pliocene to mid-Pleistocene. we suggest two to five million years as the time when most of the analyzed lineages started invading the Dinaric Karst underground.

Evolutionary history of relict Congeria (Bivalvia: Dreissenidae): unearthing the subterranean biodiversity of the Dinaric Karst

“…According to the exponential clock model, the first split within the extant lineages of Congeria happened around 8 MYA, what approximately corresponds to the ages of the holodinaric groups of Troglocaris and Proteus , although 7.5-8.5 MYA was the lowest estimate of the inferred ranges for these taxa [34]. The lognormal clock gave different estimates and the discrepancy is probably due to the fact that the exponential model assumes most branch rates are small.…”

“…This occurred much later than the isolation of the northern Bosnian populations from the remaining Proteus (4.4-5.4 MYA) and Troglocaris anophthalmus (Kollar, 1848) lineages (3.7-5.3 MYA) [17,34]. Along with divergence time estimates of various Dinaric groundwater taxa, the phylogeographical patterns are incongruent as well [15,16,18,34]. The disparities may be the result of dissimilarities in biology of these animals and/or a complex geological history of the Dinaric Karst.…”

Identification and characterization of visual pigments in caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona), an order of limbless vertebrates with rudimentary eyes

“…This contrasts with another population from the Planina cave which have retained both a long wavelength-sensitive (red) cone opsin and a rod opsin, as determined by immunocytochemistry. The estimated time of divergence of surface and cave-dwelling salamanders is 2-5million years (Trontelj et al, 2007). Therefore, loss of cone pigments in cave-dwelling species has occurred over a relatively short evolutionary time and their loss in caecilians, which diverged from other amphibians at a much earlier time, is unsurprising.…”

Role of the Dinaric Karst (western Balkans) in shaping the phylogeographic structure of the threatened crayfish Austropotamobius torrentium

“…Towards the end of the Pliocene and the beginning of the Pleistocene, intensification of Neotectonic movements in Dinarides played a major role in reshaping the landscape, gradual exhumation of carbonate bedrock and development of karstification (Pavičić, 1997;Pavelić & Belak, 2008). This created an extensive hydrographic network of surface and subterranean watercourses allowing immigration of fauna to the Dinaric Karst ground water (Verovnik, Sket & Trontelj, 2004;Trontelj et al, 2007). The beginning of this process has been tentatively dated by Trontelj et al (2007), using a molecular clock, at 2-5 Ma.…”